


Damon Briar:  A Fifth Year

by fusilier



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (for the most part), Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, Gobstones (Harry Potter), Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, Professor Neville Longbottom, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-01-29 22:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21417946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fusilier/pseuds/fusilier
Summary: Damon Briar, a fifth year, has been made captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.  Follow along as he and his friends work through a stressful year of OWLs, Quidditch, and general life at Hogwarts.  Takes place after the Second Wizarding War.  Mentions and features some of Harry/Ron/Hermione/Canon characters' children.
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We don't know too much about who teaches all the subjects at Hogwarts 19+ years later. I have made some educated guesses of my own and done extensive research on who I believe best suits the unfilled teaching roles. This work should be updated with one chapter a month at the very least. Please feel free to leave comments, I do not mind feedback nor suggestions. Finally, I would like to note that if you're searching for a fic that deals with fantastical adventures of powerful wizards, battles with dragons, or wars against dark beings, this is not it. This fic features predominantly original characters and their life at Hogwarts. I intend this work to be a comfortable slice of life as a student in the wizarding world, complete with magical feasts, cozy common rooms, and Wintery trips to Hogsmeade. Please sit back and enjoy.

The compartment rattled and jolted as the train railed through a particularly bumpy section of the tracks. Even seated, the four students were gently thrown around. The trolley lady stood nearly motionless.

"Anything from the trolley?"

"Two chocolate frogs please." Said one of the boys, who sported a wispy, adolescent beard. "Ron Weasley, again." He sighed, tossing the chocolate frog card to the other boy who had just been complaining that he was still missing the ginger haired celebrity's card. 

"Did you know Ron Weasley was a prefect too?" The boy informed the compartment, reading off the back of the card.

"That doesn't make it any better. It's just silly, we have our OWLs this year. It's too much to think about. I didn't ask for this." Complained the girl with short blonde hair. "It's not even really that nice to look at." Her fingers fiddled with the prefect badge. "And I have to wear mine all the time. Unlike _yours_, Damon." She shot a malicious look at the boy with the beard and huffed.

"Well, I don't particularly want the extra stress either..." Damon quietly defended himself. In fact, ever since he received the letter this summer that he was to be made Quidditch team captain, all he could think about was the added responsibilities that he didn't ask for either. This was not something he wanted during his fifth year. _Someone has to do it, I suppose_, Damon thought to himself as he leaned his head against the window. The countryside streamed by.

"Are you taking Divination this year, by the way?" Rella, sat beside Damon, asked the compartment. They all shook their heads. 

Hannah, slid her prefect badge back into her pocket. "We all dropped it. It's the most worthless subject of all."

"I like it." Rella frowned and returned to her book. 

The daylight begun to dither as the Hogwarts Express brought them closer and closer to their annual destination. The change in scenery brought about great motion from within the train, as the students all decided that now was the best time to start lazily changing into their school robes and double checking their belongings. Damon helped straighten Hannah's prefect badge on her robes as she tied up her short blonde hair. "I'll see you lot at dinner, I guess. Miles, your shirt's untucked." Rella, Damon, and Miles, who was tucking in his shirt and stuffing his Ron Weasley chocolate frog card into his robes, waved goodbye as Hannah set off to perform her first prefect duties.

"I do feel kinda bad for her." Rella admitted to the two boys, once the train had stopped at Hogsmeade Station and students were pouring into the horseless carriages. "I mean, it's OWLs year. Do they really have to pick prefects this year?"

"Must be why they do it, you know? All the added stress, I suppose they can figure out who can deal with it all and still be a leader." Miles quipped, drawing a snort from Rella.

"Leader? You mean walking around deducting points for untucked shirts." She pointed at his shirt. "It's untucked again, Miles."

The three chatted on the way up to Hogwarts Castle, sharing their carriage with a fifth year Ravenclaw who Damon recognized as one of the team's Chasers. The closer the carriage rolled up to Hogwarts, the heavier the air thickened with anticipation, nerves, and excitement for the new school year. The castle was lit up like a great constellation against the night sky. At the entrance, the trio met up again with Hannah, who already looked flustered. "You wouldn't believe how many students just don't care what we prefects say. It's like they're trying to get in trouble." She scoffed. "And we had to stop one fight already. Between second years, believe it or not."

Inside, the great hall was just as bright and grand with its hundreds of floating candles. The noise inside was deafening as students excitedly greeted each other and made their way to their respective house tables. 

Damon, along with Rella, Miles, and Hannah wore black robes lined with yellow - the colour scheme of Hufflepuff House. They sat at their table.

"All right Briar?" Jonathan Fletcher called across the table to Damon Briar. "Got something on your face, mate!" The fellow Hufflepuffs who heard the remark laughed.

"At least I can shave this off. You're stuck with that cauldron of a nose forever!" Damon yelled back, drawing more laughter around him. Jonathan Fletcher was a fellow fifth year and last year's keeper for Hufflepuff's Quidditch team. He was also a very good friend, and was about to continue the banter until the great hall fell silent as a group of small, unsorted first years hesitantly waddled in behind Professor Hagrid, the half-giant groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher. 

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall flicked her wand and a ragged brown, pointed hat appeared on a stool before Hagrid. "Righ', when yer name's called, step up an' sit down on that there stool. The hat'll sort yer." 

"Thank you, Professor Hagrid. When I call your name, step forward." She instructed as Hagrid sat down at the staff table. "James McGee."

A shy boy stumbled forward, but Damon Briar was hardly paying attention. He was glancing up and down the Hufflepuff table, taking mental note of those likely to try out for the Quidditch team. Jonathan Fletcher was an obvious. Damon would be surprised if anyone outsaved the Keeper in tryouts. Further up the table sat Henry Fowler, a now seventh year student who had played the position of Beater since his third year at Hogwarts. _He'll be tough to replace next year_, Damon thought, but the moment the words crossed his mind, his gut sank. Robin Jones, the superb Beater who played alongside Fowler was no longer attending Hogwarts. He'd have to find a replacement.

"Slytherin!" The hat called out. Damon had shifted his focus from his own team and surveyed the Gryffindor table. He spotted James Potter, the rather adept fourth year seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Next to him sat the sixth year Marcus Beater who, ironically, played Chaser. 

"Hufflepuff!"

Damon absentmindedly joined in with the cheers from his table as a beaming first year ran over to take a seat. The next name Professor McGonagall called went through one ear and right back out the other as Damon's attention was already back to Quidditch. His eyes were scanning the Ravenclaw table, searching for the bleached white hair of their Keeper. 

"You're staring." He was nudged in the rib by Rella who sounded annoyed.

"I wasn't!"

"You were. Pay attention, some of these first years could be your next Quidditch star, you know. And even if they're not, your time is better spent meeting new Hufflepuffs than staring at Aligora Croy."

Determined not to let Rella catch him staring again, he focused on the group of first years instead. Many names later and all students seated, Professor McGonagall stood proudly to address the school:

"I wish to extend a warm welcome back to all returning students and staff, and a warm welcome to our first years. In keeping with tradition, however, I will save my speech for after the feast. Enjoy." With a clap of her hands, the tables overflowed with food. The noise level was back to near deafening as the students ate, their voices carrying over the hall, their cutlery loud against their plates as they dug in to roasted turkey and stuffing, pork drizzled in apple cinnamon gravy, thick slices of garlic and herb crusted chicken, braised lamb with mint sauce, and pounds of steaming cottage pie. And when they tired of such heavy foods, they scooped roasted parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, sprouts, cauliflower, and beets from sauce soaked bowls onto their plates, only to shrug and ask themselves _what's the harm in a little more_ as they returned to the steak and kidney pies, Cornish and pumpkin pasties, beef wellingtons and buttery mashed potatoes. When the majority of students were slumped over or washing their tonnes of food down with iced pumpkin juice, the food disappeared, only to reappear moments later far sweeter and far less healthy. Treacles, apple pies, eclairs, custard tarts and cremes, doughnuts, rice pudding, trifles, Spotted Dick, ice creams and jellies of every flavour lined the tables and were quickly devoured.

Some time between the third student to vomit and the fifth, Professor McGonagall rose from the staff table and silenced the great hall. "What a wonderful feast, as always. Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. And welcome to our first years. This year, I would like to remind you all one of the tenets of Hogwarts School; kindness. You should each make it your goal this year to do something kind for one another. The staff this year are keeping an eye out for good deeds and will reward them appropriately with house points. Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you all that the majority of products purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes are prohibited within Hogwarts, no matter how much the owners of said shop donate to our school each year. Finally, Quidditch teams should have their final rosters posted on their common room boards by the end of the month. Prefects, please begin to escort your younger House-mates to the common rooms."

The benches screeched as they slid back and the mass of Hogwarts students stood up to file out of the great hall. 

The Hufflepuffs made their way to the kitchens and veered off at the last stretch to the stacked barrels. One of them was open, allowing a steady stream of yellow and black robes to climb in and enter the lively Hufflepuff common room. "Briar!" A voice called over the noise. "When's tryouts? We're missing a Beater this year, do you know who's replacing him?" The voice belonged to Bernie Trufflepot who was waving Damon over to the honey coloured couches near the fire.

"See you both in a bit..." Damon muttered to Miles and Rella before joining Bernie. "Look, I dunno, sorry, haven't thought that far ahead yet. I haven't even had a look at the notices yet." He threw a thumb over to the crowded notice board.

"Damon, we need to get our team up quick, listen..." Bernie Trufflepot leaned closer. "I have good information that Gryffindor may be receiving a hotshot new Chaser this year. The faster our team is up, the faster we can get to practicing."

This information shocked Damon, considering they'd been at school for less than five hours, yet Bernie already apparently knew something. "How do you know that?"

The shorter boy blushed and waved the question aside. "Doesn't matter. Just trust me, yeah?"

"Well, I'll work on it." Damon spent the rest of the night catching up with Rella, Miles, and Hannah, now that they had a comfortable place to talk. Nervous first years were the first to bow out and head to bed, followed closely by second, third, and fourth years. When the common room was predominantly upperclassmen, Damon and Miles bade the girls goodnight and retreated to their dormitories. Damon was pleased to see his luggage at the foot of his four poster bed and his white ragdoll cat, Birch, curled up asleep on his pillow. 

That night, he dreamed of Quidditch.


	2. Chapter 2

Light poured through the windows, waking Damon Briar up much earlier than he had been waking over the summer. The other boys were getting dressed and soon after pulling their own robes on, Damon and Miles sat around in the common room waiting for Hannah and Rella. When the girls appeared, the group made their way to breakfast.

"Double potions and double Defense Against the Dark Arts today." Damon groaned to his friends as they compared class schedules. "Double Charms and Transfiguration on Tuesday. It just doesn't end." He rubbed his temples as if prematurely warding off the inevitable headache. 

"I should've dropped an elective..." Hannah was staring stunned at her schedule. "Why would they make me prefect if they knew my schedule was going to look like this?" She shoved her parchment in their faces. 

"Does anyone have a free period after first class on Wednesday?" Miles asked.

Both Damon and Rella did. Hannah scoffed furiously at the three of them and moved herself and her breakfast elsewhere.

Rella rolled her eyes and Miles said sadly, "I just asked..."

"She's been uptight lately. She needs to let loose." Rella commented, carelessly flicking her wavy brown hair aside as she set down her schedule and returned to her breakfast.

Had he been listening, Damon would've agreed with the observation, but he had just laid eyes on Jonathan Fletcher, who was miming 'Quidditch tryouts?' through a mouthful of porridge. Damon's stomach flipped. _I'd forgotten..._ He glanced back over his schedule. 

"They won't hate me if tryouts are on a Saturday, right?" He asked Miles during History of Magic. The class was his first of the day and of the term, but already the ghostly Professor Binns had bored the class with his monotony. 

"Don't ask me." Miles Smith shrugged as he rolled a lone gobstone up and down the crease of his _History of Magic_ textbook. "I wouldn't be thrilled about losing a weekend but I'm not nuts for the sport like you lot. Who cares what they think anyway, you're the captain. What you say goes."

"I suppose you're right." Damon justified. "We all love Quidditch or they wouldn't be trying out for the team. So they must be fine with losing a day of the weekend." The logic seemed reasonable, and so he set aside thoughts of Quidditch for now. When the bell ended class, the Hufflepuffs raced to the dungeons for double Potions, undoubtedly attempting to claim the best seats. Professor Slughorn held the classroom door open as students rushed inside. Damon, Miles, and Rella claimed the back of the classroom while Hannah the front.

"Now, as I'm sure you all know, this year is your OWL year, or your 'Ordinary Wizarding Levels'. I expect you all to pass. The examination shan't be difficult, as long as you pay attention in class. Now..." Professor Slughorn bent to pick up a textbook from his desk. A button popped off his waistcoat. "You should all have a copy of _Magical Drafts and Potions_. We'll be working primarily from this text throughout the term, starting today, with the properties of Moonstone."

Double Potions dragged on as Slughorn drilled them on the basics of Moonstone and a dull refresher on draughts from previous years. The best Damon could say about the class was that it was particularly more engaging than History of Magic, probably due to the fact that the Potions professor was actually alive. Unlike Binns however, Slughorn assigned considerably more homework.

"I can't believe we have an essay already, it's our first day back!" Miles complained over lunch. "I bet the library'll be packed..."

"If you had written notes you wouldn't need the library. He told us everything in class." Hannah scolded.

"Yeah, well..." He trailed off, finding no excuse and taking a sudden interest in his pumpkin juice. 

Lunch was oddly short, and Damon was off to Arithmancy alone. Although he enjoyed a proficiency at the subject, the class was the one he was looking forward to least. Professor Vector was strict and often gave copious amounts of homework. Damon was also one of the only Hufflepuffs in the Ravenclaw dominated class.

"Welcome back, continuing students." Septima Vector addressed the class sweetly. "As this year you will take your OWLs, we will be working harder and smarter. You are all intelligent and I expect nothing less than an 'E'." Damon was beginning to spot a pattern with these speeches. He was proven correct nearly an hour later in Defense Against the Dark Arts when Professor Hestia Jones, the former Auror, began the class with a nearly identical announcement.

"OWLs year....we're all smart....expect high scores..." Miles whispered quietly, before the words even left Professor Jones' mouth.

Their first day of classes ended with huffs and groans as students collapsed onto chairs and sofas in the Hufflepuff common room. The rest of the week was scarcely different, the only particularly notable events occurring on Tuesday morning and Thursday at lunch.

Tuesday began with double Charms, where Professor Flitwick was excited to tell the class, as if they weren't already aware, that this year was year five and consequently, OWLs year. The Ravenclaw head was quick to assign them homework. It was in the next class, Transfiguration, that Damon was provided with shocking information.

"Briar, a quick word, if you don't mind." Hufflepuff's Head of House and Transfiguration Professor, Justin Finch-Fletchley requested after the bell had ended class. "I understand it's only your second day, but Gryffindor and Slytherin have both booked the Quidditch pitch already. Are you anywhere close to figuring out when you're going to hold tryouts?" The Professor fiddled with a quill.

"How? When?"

"Gryffindor have the pitch tomorrow evening, Slytherin on Saturday morning. If you'd like, I could book the pitch for our team on Thursday. Or Friday, perhaps Sunday? Saturday afternoon could work, though late afternoon, I'm not sure how long the Slytherins have the field..." Professor Finch-Fletchley was almost talking to himself before shaking his head, returning to Damon. "Sorry. When are you thinking?"

"Saturday afternoon will work." Damon replied. He was worried. Gryffindors were holding tryouts on their third day back. They must mean business this year. _Last year was not this serious...Do they have a new captain?_

"I'll get the word out right away! And, Damon? Tell Mr. Smith his shirt was untucked all throughout class."

After passing on the message, Miles Smith's shirt miraculously stayed tucked for the remainder of the day, much to the surprise of Hannah ("At least he listens to someone!" She commented). Aside from the occasional worries about Gryffindor's seemingly aggressive tryout schedule, the rest of the week went swimmingly for Damon. Until Thursday, that is. 

Damon was biting into an apple while watching Miles trade a chocolate frog card with a first year when Professor McGonagall stood up from the staff table and addressed the great hall. "I have a small announcement on behalf of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. As some of you may know, the team lost a chaser. However, the position has been promptly filled! Please give a Hogwarts welcome and remember to be kind to Gryffindor's superb new chaser: second year Rose Granger-Weasley!"

As Gryffindor table roared in applause, the three other house tables politely clapped, but Damon Briar's stomach dropped. A second year Chaser. Such young players weren't unheard of, but they were rare. Very rare. And when younger students did happen to make the team, their small stature usually lent them to a proficiency in Seeking, but never Chasing. Which means only one thing... She had to be good. Very good.

"Two celebrity children on the team now. We're done for."

"Do you think she bought her way in? Her parents are very close to Harry Potter. And it's no secret the Potter Family donates new broomsticks every few years to the school."

"Yeah, but they started doing that before James Potter even went here. It's to even out the playing field, get the teams all on the same brooms. I actually don't mind it."

The common room was abuzz with rumours that evening. Bernie Trufflepot had given Damon an 'I told you so' look before sneaking off to bed. Damon followed not soon after, tired and downright annoyed at the constant talk of Gryffindor's team. 

That night he lay awake, deep in thought.


	3. Chapter 3

On Saturday morning, Damon Briar awoke much earlier than the rest of the boys. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he lay in a blissful moment of ignorance before the time and date sent a nervous jolt through his stomach. Once dressed, he waited in the common room next to the fire, staring out the rainy window. Eventually, students began to trickle into the room over the next few hours. Damon had started working on an essay for History of Magic to distract himself when Bernie Trufflepot sat down beside him. He was shaking his head. "I don't feel right. I'm gonna miss all my shots, I know it."

Then it was seventh year Beater, Henry Fowler. "Alright Briar?" Shortly after, Keeper Jonathan Fletcher who said nothing, but looked red in the face. And when it was near enough to breakfast time, what seemed like the entire Hufflepuff house headed out to the great hall together, a giant swarm of yellow and black. 

"Good luck Fletcher." A pat on the back at breakfast. "Good luck Fowler, not that you need it." A joke through a mouthful of porridge. "Stop worrying Briar, you'll fill the team!" Encouragement over a plate of eggs. Damon smiled and turned away, his face flushed. It seemed as though everyone was talking about him. The table buzzed with energy. 

"I wonder if the other Potter will try out." Miles gestured to the table clad in green.

"Who, Albus? Kid can't tell one end of a broomstick from the other, apparently." Henry Fowler overheard. "Then again, with Slytherin's record last year, he might be an improvement to the team."

Those who weren't nervous enough for Quidditch tryouts laughed. Damon did not. He found himself scanning the Ravenclaw table for Aligora Croy until a large group of Slytherins made to leave. Albus Potter was not among them. At least that's one less celebrity to deal with. 

The hours dragged on. The Hufflepuffs killed time with homework. Briar paced the common room much to the annoyance of some hardworking first years. One of them told him to sit down. Hannah the prefect told them to shut up. They did. 

Finally, the lunch bell rang. Then lunch ended.

` At 1 PM, almost the entire Hufflepuff house walked down to the Quidditch pitch, sporting yellow and black scarves and hats. The rain pelted them lightly. As they passed the owlery, a group of green students came trotting up the road towards them, looking worn and muddy. They gave the Hufflepuffs a wide berth, though their leader, a thin brown haired boy Damon knew as Harry Crone, nodded and offered a "Good luck". 

"Right, so...Welcome to tryouts." Damon Briar addressed the large group of hopefuls on the Quidditch pitch. A few of them stood around in their own gear, others in their school robes. "As captain, I think everyone should try out again. I know some other teams just keep their current roster and hold tryouts for open positions, but I want this to be fair for all of us." There were nods of agreement from the crowd, though some frowns too. Damon glanced up at the stands, feeling the eyes of the rest of the Hufflepuff house. He cleared his throat. "Well uh, as I'm the captain, I'm pretty much automatically on the team, therefore we're only looking for two other Chasers. So Chasers, if you'd form a group to my left. Your right, yeah. Thanks....Beaters, next to them in front of me. And Keepers....And finally Seekers." 

When Damon finished explaining how the trials were going to work, he let the Golden Snitch loose and the three Seeker hopefuls kicked off from the mud in pursuit. They would chase the Snitch for the duration of tryouts, returning to Damon when one of them caught it, so he could keep score, only to release the Snitch again. The Seeker who caught the Snitch the most times by the end, Damon figured, would join the team.

The Keepers, of which there were two - Jonathan Fletcher and Rolinda Cricket - were to guard their hoops at each end of the pitch while the Chasers lobbed the Quaffle at them. Damon would have to keep an eye on both Keepers to determine who made the most consistent saves, though he was sure it would be Jonathan.

The seven Chasers took turns carrying the Quaffle from one end of the pitch to the other, then shooting the ball into one of the three hoops. They were also tested in passing and teamwork, as alternating groups of threes worked together to score.

While all of this went on, the three Beaters took turns at whacking targets with the Bludger, flying in a triangle and keeping the Bludger rebounding between them, and smacking Chasers to stop them from scoring. 

Nearly two hours later, Damon Briar blew his whistle, and the chaos slowly made its way to the ground and dismounted. The rain had stopped, leaving a large group of muddy, sweaty players awaiting judgement. Up in the stands, the Hufflepuff onlookers stashed homework and textbooks away to listen closely. 

"You all did really great. I saw some great players out there and absolutely zero bad ones. Obviously we can't all play on the team, so I've had to make some pretty tough choices. If you don't manage to get on the team this year, I really want you all to try out again next year. Right, so," He wiped his hands on his robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. "We'll start with Keeper, since there's only two of you who tried out. Rolinda, you did really excellent, but Jonathan Fletcher consistently saved the more shots. I think you should try out again next year though, you just need a bit more experience and I think you'd be unbeatable. So, team Keeper - Jonathan Fletcher!" As he expected, there were cheers. Jonathan had proved himself a more than capable Keeper both in previous years and today. 

"As for Seekers, we had three." Damon looked at the second and third year hopefuls. "You two were really quick. Another year or so and I think you'd make excellent Seekers. But Jessica Fortescue displayed a lot of experience today and made the most catches. Therefore, Jessica joins us again as Seeker!"

There were more cheers of approval for the tried and tested fourth year. Just under an hour later, the Hufflepuffs had left the pitch, and Damon Briar was back in the common room pinning up the parchment with the team roster onto the notice board: 

Quidditch Team:  
Keeper: Jonathan Fletcher  
Seeker: Jessica Fortescue  
Beaters: Henry Fowler, George Finley  
Chasers: Damon Briar (Captain), Bernie Trufflepot, Alice Burns

Damon collapsed onto the nearest sofa. He thought, despite the noise, he was going to drift off until a still muddy Bernie Trufflepot pounced on the chair beside Damon. "We got a team! Ravenclaw are the only ones who haven't had tryouts yet. I'm really feeling strong about our chances this year, Damon. Alice is a right rocket! No way Rose has anything on her."

Damon had to agree. Alice was a fellow fifth year who seemed to have come out from nowhere. She was a natural on the broomstick, yet had never tried out previous years. "Good stuff today Damon." Henry Fowler had shown up. "I've been showing George my bat. Think he's ordering one right now. Any idea when our first practice is?"

After admitting that he did not have any idea when their first practice would be, Damon endured another hour of conversation about Quidditch and the other house teams before moving to the dormitory for a nap. He fell asleep easily.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter here for 2 reasons - One, getting back into the swing of things. Two, to see if anyone is even reading this. Let me know if it's worth continuing please?

The day after Hufflepuff's Quidditch trials, Rella Knotts skipped breakfast, opting instead for a rather long lay in. Sometime just before lunch, she lazily dressed, double-checked the notice in the common room, and made her way to the great hall. She gave a quick congratulations to Damon, sat for awhile listening to her fellow Hufflepuffs’ predictions about the upcoming Quidditch season, then took a slice of toast and left. Rella made her way to a second floor corridor, strolling along until she found the open, previously unused classroom that the notice had mentioned. She stuck her head inside.

"Oh good one. I haven't played in so long." Said a small voice, which was barely louder than the rhythmic clinking that filled the room. The voice belonged to a tiny first year kneeling on the floor. In fact, most of the room's occupants were small and kneeling, save for a few older looking students standing around a desk. 

"Hi Rella." One of them waved and beckoned her over.  


"Hi. Where do I sign?" She was given a piece of parchment titled 'Gobstones Club'. She signed it. "How was your Summer?"  


"Pretty good. I got a new set this year. I haven't lost a game since. Well, I've only played my family so far, but as soon as we get the league set up here, we should get some good games going. You guys had Quidditch tryouts yesterday right? How was that?"  


"Fun." Rella smiled, turning to the rest of the room. "Low turnout so far."  


"Yeah." He agreed. They both knew it was a partial lie. Every year had a low turnout. Gobstones, a magical version of marbles, often had a reputation for drawing in what other students called "nerds". Most of the club consisted of first and second years who would quickly outgrow the game by the end of term. Rella was among the very few who stuck with it. "Well, we're just having some quick games, kinda let everyone get comfortable and meet each other as the sign ups come in, but our first  
proper meeting is in a couple weeks. You don't have to stay if you don't want."  


“I can hang around for a bit.” She sat on the desk. “So, is Rose any good? At Quidditch, I mean.”  


“Why, spying for the Hufflepuffs?” The boy teased. “No clue, honestly. I mean, they’re all pretty excited about it and no one really picks second years all that often, so I guess she’s gotta be. She is a Weasley, and they were all on our team. ‘Cept one I think.”  


“I suppose.” Rella nodded, silently taking note of the information. Truth be told, she did want to take something back to Damon. “We’re excited too. I think we have a real chance this year. Damon says Slytherin isn’t much to worry about at all and that Ravenclaw has a strong defense but lacks the offense. He says Gryffindor’s the main threat.”  


“We’ll see.” The Gryffindor boy shrugged.  


*****  


“Dueling Club! Come on, Damon!” Miles pleaded, tapping the parchment on the noticeboard. “Once a week, just Sundays. That won’t interfere with Quidditch.”  


“I know, I know, it’s just...What if something happens, I break an arm or a leg? I’m stuck in the hospital wing for a few days. That could interfere with Quidditch.”  


“Oh don’t be a wuss, mate. I’ll bet Aligora’s going.”  


Damon scratched his chin. “Where’d you hear that?”  


“Well, y’know, she’s always been pretty good with her wand hasn’t she? Bound to get it from somewhere – probably Dueling Club.”  


Damon stared into the fire for a moment. But only a brief one. “Alright. I’ll go.”  


“You won’t regret it!” Miles celebrated.


End file.
